Running
by ShadowDreamer33
Summary: Warning: Character death! featuring Leo and Raph.
1. Lost Brother

It was raining.

The darkness of the night was never before as dark as this night.

The turtles went out one their patrol, topside. They were glad to finally be able to stretch their legs after being cooped up with Master Splinter for the week. They had been grounded, thanks to Mikey. They couldn't remember, had it always been this dark? Or were they simply used to the constant glow that Don's generators produced through the night? Leo shifted uncomfortably, as they jumped rooftops, his skin was crawling. Someone was watching.

Raph had craved this darkness. He reveled in how easily he could move above the familiar roofs. He fully extended his limbs with every bound, leaving his three brothers in the dust. He did not even notice that Leo had taken a detour.

The rain clouded his thoughts. He was being paranoid, Leo thought to himself. This is the result of letting Mikey choose horror movies all week. No matter what, he could not console his mind with these excuses. Something was out there, he just knew it. He heard what he thought was a voice, he followed it. Unnoticed by his brothers, he changed his course.

Don had barely even noticed that it was raining, he was still adjusting to the darkness and was only vaguely aware that Raph had left them in the dust. Did he only hear one set of footsteps beside him? He really ought to not go on the computer so much late at night, his eyes could never adjust quickly enough in emergencies. A fleeting thought, could coffee fix this problem?

Mikey had seen this image on too many movie screens to not be totally freaking out right now. The rain, the looming darkness, his brothers becoming separated...He just knew that a wack-job with a chainsaw was going to jump off of the next fire escape and hack them all to pieces! Not quite Mikey...not quite.

Leo was approaching the voice he had heard, it was now distinctly female. He had yet to be able to decipher what she was saying, it sounded like a call,_ "...come...Leo..." _Woah, did she just say my name? I made a note to slap Mikey the next time that I saw him. The voice stopped, just as mysteriously, it had vanished. Had the rain drowned out the sound? Was she moving away? A figure appeared from a window. With incredible dexterity, it jumped down from the window onto the roof which Leo was standing.

It was a beautiful woman. Her hair was so black, that it rivaled darkness itself. Her eyes were gray, not a hint of blue, more white. She was slender, and everything about her screamed dangerous. Leo was taken aback, he had fought women before, take Karai for example, but he had never before hesitated. He wondered if his brothers had noticed his absence, he hoped that they had. He reached back for his katanas. His arms seemed to turn to be made of lead the way his body fought his will. The woman was fast. Before Leo's swords were out of their sheaths, she was upon his throat with a dagger. If turtles could blush, now would be the time. Her breath was on the back of his neck and it sent shivers down his shell. He did not want to fight her, but she was a threat, just like any other. He regained control of his limbs and lashed out at her for catching him off guard. His swords made contact with the metal of her daggers. Leo whipped his body around and advanced once again, making contact with her clothing this time.

Raph slowed to a jog allowing his brothers a chance to catch up. Wow, he had run very far ahead. He stopped altogether. He hadn't realized how out of breath he had become. A good ten minutes later, Don and Mikey came staggering up. The two brothers collapsed in a heap, Mikey was just being lazy. I am pretty sure this was what would be called a 'crash' that Don was experiencing. Where was Leo?

The woman's knife made contact with Leo's shell, that was close. Leo landed a blow to her midsection and she fell back. Leo took this opportunity to advance, he kicked her daggers away before she could regain her balance. Her nails were like claws and she screamed out his name while she slashed her claws at Leo's scarred face. How did she know him? Was she one of Karai's dogs? Or was she acting on her own accord? Leo wanted answers, but she was not thinking rationally and he doubted that he could calm her down without hurting himself. Still, his conscience would not allow him to snuff out her life for no reason. But he could not allow her to harm one of his brothers, although this did seem to be targeting him specifically...

When Raph realized that his big brother was missing, he tried to think when the footsteps behind him had changed, he was too wrapped up in his own euphoria that he didn't even notice the absence. How could he have let this happen? If something happened to Leo, he would never recover. What was he going to do? He began to run.

For the first time ever, he had to run towards a problem.

Leo let the woman up, thinking she would be harmless without her weapons. He still remained weary of her hands, but otherwise contented himself with finding some answers. He was blindsided. Her words pierced deeper than her daggers. He didn't even feel the contact of the steal with his throat. All he felt was the cold. As the frozen water mixed with his blood, he was so cold. The woman began to laugh, then weep. She disappeared around a corner. He never saw her again.

Raph arrived just in time to see a silver light glint passed his brothers face. It appeared to have missed anything important. The silver did not continue passed his brother. A sinking feeling settled in his gut. Raph rushed to give chase to the shadowed figure but realized that his brother had fallen to the ground. His leader had fallen. His brother had fallen. Raph ran to his side, Leo's warm blood was mixing with the cold rain, staining the trench coat that he wore. Leo's breathing was labored, his eyes were unblinking, unwavering, fearless. Was Leo really unafraid to die? How dare Leo not try and stay with him! How dare he abandon his family! "You were supposed to protect us Leo! YOU COWARD! YOU DON'T GET TO RUN AWAY! YOU DON'T GET TO LEAVE ME BEHIND!" Leo's breathing shallowed, he choked on his blood, he was drowning in his own life force. Raph didn't want to try and stop the bleeding because he could accidentally suffocate him. What was he supposed to do? Leo closed his eyes. He grabbed Leo and slung him over his shoulder. He began to run. How dark was the night. Raph laid his brothers body at their masters feet. What had he allowed to happen?


	2. Asani

Here is a bit of background to the inquiries I have been receiving about who killed Leo. I didn't know who I was going to make her when I wrote the death so it does not fit very well, sorry.

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT **

* * *

One year earlier

I pulled up to the foot headquarters in New York City. I hate the sun. It is so bright and hot that I feel as though the reflection on my pale skin is a beacon to the 'twihards'. Thankfully, the job I was applying to did not allow for much basking in the sunlight. It was more me being recruited than me applying, this process was just a formality. I don't know what I was expecting to see when I walked into Foot HQ, but this just did not scream ninja. I walked through the automatic glass doors into a reception area that looked like it could have belonged to any building in NYC. The only thing that would lead you to believe this was anything but a normal office building were the armed guards, with their backs to double doors. Even they could be overlooked by an untrained eye. A young man peaked out from behind a desk, "Ms. Asani, Mistress is awaiting you in her office.". He waved toward an elevator passively and went back to pecking at his keyboard.

I rode the elevator up to the top floor, where I was expecting to meet Karai. Instead, I met an old woman. I thought Karai was supposed to be... younger? There was no mistake that this was her though, the abrasive look in her eye met every description of her that I had heard. Any chance of backing out now? No.

One year later

I looked good in the Foot uniform. It framed my long lean body. The black and red were striking against my alabaster face. My black hair was even darker than the uniform, but it had to be braided back so I didn't have to cut it. Even camouflaged by the uniform, I stood out among the elite Foot. I stood out for more than just my looks. I had become Karai's personal pet. Karai does not have favorites, rather, she has ones that are more useful to her than others. Having a favorite would imply that she had emotion beyond power hungry and vengeful. Nevertheless, she took me on for a personal task. I was to eliminate Hamato Leonardo.

The attacks of the Turtles were before my time. Who the hell was Leonardo? The blue one? He was a what? A giant mutant turtle. Ok, now Karai was not only scary, but delusional as well. She has the worlds largest stronghold, she controls the worlds best assassins, and she is completely crazy. It was going to take some convincing on her part to get me to believe in such childish things. Be careful what I wish for. My friend Chaplin led me down a restricted corridor to debrief me on the green situation. Not only did my completely sane (until proven otherwise) friend confirm Karai's story, he backed it up with recorded evidence. The blue turtle looked right into a camera while climbing out of a sewer.

Ok, now I had a target. I had motivation, please my Mistress. I had means, I was an assassin. I was ready. I waited until nightfall.


End file.
